When the World Trade Center towers fell down on September 11, 2001, there were many
heroes. One you probably haven’t heard of was a dog.
Salty was born in 1996 and started to be trained as a guide dog two years later by the dog
instructor Caroline McCabe-Sandler. She had trained dogs for many years before Salty.
According to McCabe-Sandler, Salty liked the movement and noise of the city. The dog was
very obedient and did everything he was told to. Caroline taught Salty to navigate in the city
and stop at traffic lights. Subways or the crowded sidewalks of Manhattan were no problem for
the dog.
In 1999, after five months of training, Salty met his owner, an elderly man, Omar Rivera. It was
a lucky day for Rivera. He had been blind for 10 years after an unsuccessful eye operation.
Even though a lot of time had passed since then, he still had difficulty walking with a white
cane for the blind so it was a challenge for him to move from one place to another. But with
Salty, he felt more confident. Soon the dog and his owner learned each other’s moves. Omar
worked for the Port Authority of New York, the agency that runs all the ports and airports in
the state. His office was in the World Trade Center, on the 71
st floor of Tower One.
On September 11, 2001, Salty was sitting calmly beside Rivera when the pair heard a great
noise and felt the building shake. When Rivera smelled smoke, he grabbed Salty’s lead and his
dog led him to the crowded staircase. After an hour, the dog successfully guided Rivera down
from the 71
st floor out of the building. They left it without being hurt.
In 2002 Salty was awarded the Dickin Medal for “remaining loyally at the side of his blind
owner, leading him to safety after the terrorist attack on New York on September 11.” Salty got
this medal together with Roselle, another guide dog who saved her master. It was only
the second time that a joint medal had been awarded since Punch and Judy, the two boxers that
saved the lives of two British soldiers in Israel, got the award in 1946. Interestingly, the Dickin
Medal was first awarded in 1943. It originally honoured the work of animals in war and the first
animals to receive the award were Royal Air Force pigeons.
adapted from www.todayifoundout.com;
September 11, 2001. Attack on New York City by Wilborn Hampton
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